The explosion of smartphones and tablets--and the subsequent data traffic--has driven demand for third-generation (3G) and long-term evolution (LTE) networks in Asia-Pacific. That in turn has pushed the need for more networking equipment in the region, churning mobile Internet infrastructure revenues of over US$400 million in the second quarter of this year.

According to Synergy Research Group, this growth would continue at a yearly rate of 30 percent.

In a statement Friday, the research firm said the number of 3G subscribers in Asia reached 381 million in mid-2011, having spiked 51 percent over the previous 12 months. Japan and China accounted for over half of the subscribers, though the "big growth numbers" were from China, India and Indonesia, it added.

While investment in mobile Internet infrastructure were focused on building out LTE, or fourth-generation networks, Synergy Research noted that it was "still early days" for LTE, on which subscriber numbers remained small.

It observed that LTE networks are already live in six Asia-Pacific countries, with Hong Kong, Japan and Uzbekistan leading the charge, followed by the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea.

"With the number of 3G and LTE subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region forecast to triple within the next four years, this will be a tremendously exciting time for vendors," Jeremy Duke, Synergy Research's founder and principal analyst, said in the statement. He added that he anticipated strong growth opportunities for infrastructure vendors in all countries across the region.

Noting the "explosion" of smartphones and tablets, Duke pointed out the need for "some powerful networks to support all of these burgeoning devices and applications [on those devices]".

Thank You

By registering you become a member of the CBS Interactive family of sites and you have read and agree to the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Video Services Policy. You agree to receive updates, alerts and promotions from CBS and that CBS may share information about you with our marketing partners so that they may contact you by email or otherwise about their products or services.
You will also receive a complimentary subscription to the ZDNet's Tech Update Today and ZDNet Announcement newsletters. You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time.